At the moment, the amount of waste produced in the developed world is not sustainable. For example, 99% of the materials used to make goods in the USA becomes waste within 6 weeks of sale, including the goods themselves. Most waste is buried underground in landfill sites; in the UK only around 7% of household waste is recycled.

It is estimated that every year in the UK each person throws out the equivalent of:

Over 100 glass bottles;

70 plastic bottles;

300 cans;

150 newspapers and magazines;

Over 60 kg of food scraps and kitchen waste.

All of these types of waste can be easily recycled, which saves resources and energy.